People v. Hout CA2/5

Filed 7/18/24 P. v. Hout CA2/5 NOT TO BE PUBLISHED IN THE OFFICIAL REPORTS

California Rules of Court, rule 8.1115(a), prohibits courts and parties from citing or relying on opinions not certified for publication or ordered published, except as specified by rule 8.1115(b). This opinion has not been certified for publication or ordered published for purposes of rule 8.1115.

IN THE COURT OF APPEAL OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

SECOND APPELLATE DISTRICT

DIVISION FIVE

THE PEOPLE, B327955

Plaintiff and Respondent, (Los Angeles County Super. Ct. No. NA014978) v.

BORAN HOUT,

Defendant and Appellant.

APPEAL from an order of the Superior Court of Los Angeles County, Daniel J. Lowenthal, Judge. Affirmed. William L. Heyman, under appointment by the Court of Appeal, for Defendant and Appellant. Rob Bonta, Attorney General, Lance E. Winters, Chief Assistant Attorney General, Susan Sullivan Pithey, Senior Assistant Attorney General, Noah P. Hill, and Nima Razfar, Deputy Attorneys General, for Plaintiff and Respondent.

I. INTRODUCTION

Defendant Boran Hout appeals from the trial court’s denial of his motion for a hearing pursuant to People v. Franklin (2016) 63 Cal.4th 261 (Franklin). He contends the court’s denial violated his equal protection rights under the California and United States Constitutions and the prohibition against cruel or unusual punishment under the California Constitution. We affirm.

II. PROCEDURAL BACKGROUND

A jury convicted defendant of the 1993 robbery (Pen. Code, § 2111) and murder (§ 187, subd. (a)) of Ros Yann. The jury also found true the special circumstance allegation that defendant committed the murder during the course of the robbery (§ 190.2, subd. (a)(17)) and the allegation that he personally used a firearm in the commission of the murder and the robbery (§ 12022.5, subd. (a)(1)). The jury also convicted defendant of the 1993 first degree burglary (§ 459) and attempted murder (§§ 664/187, subd. (a)) of another victim and found true the allegation that he personally used a firearm in the commission of those offenses (§ 12022.5, subd. (a)(1)). The trial court sentenced defendant to life without the possibility of parole (LWOP) plus 19 years. A prior panel of this division affirmed the judgment. (People v. Hout (Mar. 28, 1997, B100311) [nonpub. opn.].) On November 7, 2022, defendant filed a motion for a Franklin hearing and requested that counsel be appointed to represent him. Defendant asserted he was 19 years old when he